BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) — Last summer, Lafayette Sr. Cpl. Segus Jolivette lost his life following a standoff in Jeanerette that began with an attempt to serve an arrest warrant to repeat violent offender Nyjal Hurst.

Since the loss of Jolivette, law enforcement and lawmakers have been hard at work creating the “Segus Jolivette Act.”

The bill would require harsher sentences for repeat violent offenders, with a third conviction resulting in a mandatory sentence that is at least 50% of the maximum penalty for a first-time offense, and a fourth conviction leading to at least 75%. It would also allow a jury to hear about prior convictions in court.

The law was first proposed by Duson Police Chief Kip Judice, who said Hurst would have been in jail if this law was in effect, and so the standoff in Jeanerette would have never taken place.

“I think that we should name this law, this sentencing law, after Segus Jolivette,” Judice said. “He gave his life selflessly. Think about what he was doing. He was negotiating with a four-time convicted felon to surrender on 13 felony forms. And to let those people in that trailer go. How much selfless can you get?”

Judice’s idea caught the attention of State Rep. Chad Boyer (R-Breaux Bridge).

“I actually gave him a call and said that’s some legislation that I’d love to run,” Boyer said. “And we basically had a couple of conversations, and I got with our Criminal Justice Committee staff. And we started putting it together.”

Alexis Jolivette shares her passion for the act named after her late husband.

“The Segus Jolivette Act is to never have another family feel this type of pain that my family is enduring,” she said. “Unfortunately, a part of this still really hurts because at the end of the day I’ll forever have this feeling that it shouldn’t have happened. And this is definitely a part of just turning our pain into purpose.”

As for the current state of the bill, it is ready to be presented some time in the upcoming legislative session, which starts this month. Boyer said he will present the bill to the Criminal Justice Committee as it begins its journey to the governor’s desk.

“As a former state trooper, it just it always hits home when anybody loses their life in the line of duty,” Boyer said. “And anything that we can do to prevent this from happening again is extremely important and critical for us. So, you know, I’m looking forward to trying to get this legislation all the way through.”

Read the text of the bill below:

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